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Hope For Retarded Adults Shines Brightly At ARC What hope does a mentally retarded child Rave when he or she reaches adulthood Very Tew employers are willing to hire someone with such a handicap and even if they would most retarded persons could not cope with the pressures involved in the working world Retarded adults living In Georgetown Acton or Milton do have hope and it all started seven years ago with a soft spoken woman named Winifred Mrs Isham wanted to provide hope for these people and has been very successful at doing so She opened a sheltered workshop In April 1965 with seven retarded em Today Mrs latum runs the same workshop only it Is a lot larger and there are retarded employees supervised by and three in building was only a oneroom school house said Mrs sham a widow or four years We were operating on a shoestring at lint but wo gradually fixed he place up and expanded The workshop Is homed In an aged school house located on A venuo I Once Inside one would never know It was just an old one room house It has been divided Into various rooms and generally renovated A lounge brightly I Herald Photo ARC workshops wall papered and workshops with cleanly painted walls provide the Ideal environment for the retarded The Georgetown Kinsmen tiled the floors for us and we had to hire contractors do most of the other work Now Mrs Isham can watch what she has created A place of hope for mentally retarded adults where some may even advance enough to take a full time Job elsewhere The workshop Is sponsored by the North Halton Association or the Mentally Retarded an organization operated by volunteer workers willing to devote their time to helping retarded adults But monies to operate the workshop are generated by the retarded themselves They do a great deal of work for local businesses Wc do things Tor these factories hot example we package screws explained Mrs who loves lo show anyone the talents or her handicapped workers Packaging of screws can even mean difficulty to the retarded person Many cannot count and must use boards with holes in them When the the worker knows he has enough to fill one package But at this time of he year the workers at Mrs Isham workshop have a special product thai sells as fast as they can produce it They are now making ceramic Christmas trees and they just sell like mod Our workers do a marvellous job on them and wc have received many compliments about them CHRISTMAS CARPS also make Christmas cards with our own silk screen recess Would you believe we got one left they have sold so quickly But Christmas all work around the ARC workshop they all anticipate the coming of Santa who Is scheduled to arrive Dec On that day work will cease and they will all enjoy a turkey dinner followed by a party downstairs in the building We invite anyone to come to he party said Mrs Isham We like them to have a real good time so the more the merrier But no Christmas would be complete without a tree and the Georgetown Kinsmen have promised to have one there for the party Recreation is important at the ARC workshop We like to give them at least a half hour exercise per day It helps keep them alert Besides many of them may never leave here and it should be as enjoyable as possible added Mrs Isham According Mrs Isham they all love coming to work They really get upset if they think I m running out of things for them to do They love working and this is why it Is so important lo have a facility such as this Mrs Isham says there is still room for more I know there are more than retarded persons n this area and we could handle at least 10 more right now If get more than thai I guess we have to expand She to ever turn anyone away If they want to work her workshop Christmas Dinner The Day Of Reckoning Settles Feud With Dogs by GORDON GREEN There I was on my way to certain doom Suffering from a lifelong fear of dogs big or small I was on my way to a gulp kennel to do a story on one of the biggest dogs of all the St Bernard When the assignment was first suggested to me I was tempted to turn it down but not wanting to let on I was actually frightened by those big balls of fluff happily accepted As I rounded a corner in the drive there Ihey were Just hundreds of 20 to be exact all lined up in runways ready to attack I saw a friendly looking man in the distance so after stopping I walked directly over to him Hello I said managing to gather my voice In spile of the goose bumps popping up all over my body HI I John he replied After a formal Introduction and he learned who I was he decided I had better talk to his wife who could probably tell me more of what I needed to know SAD EVES I felt relief as he led me away from the dogs and toward the house We reached the door and as he opened it I saw three sets of sad crown eyes staring at me from the floor My heart umped and my mind raced as considered heading for the car But In spite or myself I walked in Hello I m from The Herald I muttered trying to Ignore the dogs on the floor A woman accredited with being Mr Vandermeers wife in herself As I tried to remove my shoes the dogs surrounded me Should I fight them off or run I thought I extended my hand and surprisingly enough It reached the fur on the back of one dog neck without a chunk being ripped off as a between meal snack They re very friendly reassured Mrs Vandermeer And they really Before Ions I bad forgotten 1 was frightened of them and was vigorously scratching one of them behind his ear much his content I was rather enjoying such close contact with my greatest enemy one whom had avoided all these years After a few minutes of con dilation talks with the animals I decided I had better talk Mrs Vandermeerwhowasnow standing above me probably wondering how long I was going to be there I parted with my new found friends and went Into the llvlngroom to find out why anyone would devote their lives to raising dogs GREW UP WITH DOGS Mrs Vandermeer it seems has grown up with St Ber nurds since her parents always had one from the time she was only eight months old She and her husband have owned and operated Mont Blanc Kennels Just outside Georgetown since 195o They raise only St I really love St Bernards she explained My husband was a German Shepherd lover but once he had a Saint Ber nard he couldn t leave them The St Bernard originally came from Switzerland and Is a noted rescue dog This Is why many persons have come to associate St Bernards as the big dog who runs up mountains carrying a flask or brandy on its collar The dogs actually have an instinct for rescue Mrs Vandermeer explained to me A friend of ours nearly drowned in a river but his St Bernard pulled him out They re also very gentle she added which was a relieving message for me wondering If they would turn against me if they sensed my fear 1Z5 Contrary to what I also believed about St Bernards are very popular and Mrs Vandermeer said she sells about 129 of them every year sold a whole litter in November parents wanting give them to their kids for Christmas Andyou don need a lot of space for them lust because they re big Saint Bernards are just happy to be with their owner and don care how much room they have They are a great dog for someone who owns a house in the city They don t need to do a lot of running re happy to plop down and fall asleep I peered over the barricade she had erected to keep the dogs out of thelkingroom and it astounded me to see how big her dogs were as Ihey were only about weeks old About how big are they full grown The average mole is about 180 pounds although most actually reach pounds or more she replied that about 50 pounds more dog I nan there is me I figured quick I v Burst Bernards definitely do not look vicious and have very soft fur The SI Bernard costs anywhere from 150 to to buy but that expense is the for the owner Dog costs about per week and that is about the only item Involved in up keep VERV CAREFUL But buying a dog at Mont Blanc la a sure thing Mrs Vandermeer asserted We are very careful about our dogs and we guarantee the tem perament of every dog we let out she added Many places because these dogs are growing in popularity dont care about the and buyers realize they were taken when they find they have purchased a Saint Bernard with a bad tem Apparently SI Bernards are ideal for small children These dogs are great with kids and small children can t hurl Ihem because of their size II Is amazing how many parents actually buy these dogs for their children And SI Bernards are very easy to train according lo Mrs Vandermeer who enters her dogs in various shows all over North America every year This year she has five champion dogs something she stales with great pride One of my females beat the number one champion female from the United Slates this year That was a glorious day Feeling convinced the St Bernard is friendly I edged towards the door to get my shoes and get back to the office THEV LOVED IT The three dogs bounced toward me but feeling rather confident I bent towards them and gave them a parting pat VanDermecr left poses the family three Saint Bernard puppies while VanDcrmeer gels from Ihc 13 week old pups The pups known collectively as tl three musketeers and Individually as Porthos and A ram us will be trained as show dogs Renee and Wendy are the daughters of and Mrs VanDcrmeer of Mount Blanc kennels Dogs Can Relax Now Fish Wont Win Title Could fish replace dogs as man best friend Not likely but they have cornered the market in Ihc pet business avs Mrs Carol any who operates Pel Pourri her at the Georgetown Market luouldsav more per cent of the pet business consists of fish and fish supplies said Mrs who has been in the pel business for a more lhan three years Dogs have long been con sidered man best friend and likely to lose their title but today Increase in apart living limits the number of people who can actually buy a dog You can have no mailer where you live Mrs Ivany explained I think a great number of persons like lo nave fish because a large aquarium a nice conversation piece Most persons consider a pet something to cuddle or a companion somethlngyoucan talk to without fear of being reprimanded However a just isn t the cuddliest animal and it certainly isn t a very good companion The big thing with fish is the fascination of watching them said Mrs It any trying to explain the fairly recent boom of fish sales Some can sit for hours and just watch Ihem Some of my customers gel involved with breeding tropical fish but this almost makes it a full lime hobby and isn t ad vlsflble for the novice or person who Just wants something in the house Tropical fish come In nun The Herald Home Newspaper of Georgetown Acton and Mall Registered Number Return Postage Guaranteed per year Single Copy Price THE HERALD WEDNESDAY DECEMBER WW Acton Junior farmers en eyed their recent Christmas ance Brookvllle Hall They and their guests from other clubs at North Simcoe Palermo and Norval enjoyed the music of J C and the Squires plus the well laden buffet table at midnight Alter bidding farewell to Mrs Vandermeer and the dogs whose names I forget I walked to my car feeling proud and self satisfied thai had mended a great gap between dogs and myself But I not so sure about German shepherds Richard Hunt puts the finishing touches on a gas regulator the ARC workshop The regulators are purchased by the Canadian Meter Company of Herald Photo Milton and installed in private homes and offices Herald Photo from scratch using an assembly line method OPP Charge Man With Break Enter Acton OPP have charged an area man with breaking and entering and with possession of a concealed weapon Corporal Robert Arbour said that Roger Swan IB of no fixed address was arrested last night at to p and lodged overnight at the Halton county jail in Milton He is accused of breaking into the Frank station on 7 at the outskirts of town Nothing was removed from the station according to Corporal Arbour but attempts were made to break into the cash register Swan faces ball hearings today in Mil Ion The charge of possessing a concealed weapon stemmed from a six inch knife that police discovered hanging around the youth neck beneath his coat Open House Assisted by the friends the museum County Museum Kelso the open house planned from Dec to Dec hours 2 to will include afternoon tea There will also be a draw for Santa and Mrs Santa hand made dolls Dinner For Ambulance Volunteers Friday The Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance service held Its annual dinner and dance an Friday December 7 at the Georgetown legion The Invited were and Mrs Bruce Duff Mr and Mrs Morris hospital ad ministrotor Mi and Mrs James Snow MPP Mr and Mrs Terry Connor MP Georgetown councillors Harry Levy and Mrs Levy and Roy Booth and Mrs past deputy reeve Art Speight Mr and Mrs Creaghan post Harold Gilmer and Mrs Gilmer Master of ceremonies Tor the evening was V A past ember Doug by Mrs Peck The guest speaker for the evening William Siemens of the C M accompanied by his wife Audrey very one present received a pen and pencil set imprinted with the following Volunteer Am Service Ontario Operators Association Champions First Aid Team As the Town of Georgetown will become Halton Hills on January 1 1074 Mayor Bill Smith presented all active V A members with a certificate conveying the ap preciation of the Town of Georgetown to the Volunteer Ambulance personnel The following are charter members with years ser vice Ed Hall Ace Bailey Gerard Wilcox John Holden and Doug Herri The following members have between 10 and 15 years vice Jim Bennett Bob Bradley George Ken McCoah Dan Scarborough Lloyd Ken Thomson Doug Tucker Trevor Williams Jim Jenkins Tom Massena Logan MacDonald and Lew Ward The following members have less lhan 10 years service George Albert Garnet Cameron Bill Campbell George Cozens Hunziger Doug Magwood Bill Moore Bob Alan Roxborough Bob Simpson Angus Stone Eric Stone Harry Stone William Slone Andy Dennis Allan Jim Barcley John Mark Brassard Davis Bernle Joseph Johnston Frank Kirk Bill Lane She Bill Maxwell Earl Merrill Jim Payne Dave Ross Jim Smyth Frank Tyrrell Van Home Norm from I he common goldfisr he elegant and graceful And starting an aquarium is not that expensive Someone wanting to try out fish would probably need to spend somewhere around to up a small aquarium with some fish Feeding is easy as Just buy a small can of fish food which will last up to Ihrec months Mrs Ivany said she has also had some very unusual requests from Demons for something a little unusual I had a few people come in and ask about buying an ocelot which is one of the larger members of the cat family The price tag usually manages to discourage however since Ihey cost about Members of he Georgetown Volunteer Ambulance vice attended annual dinner and dance Friday evening at the Georgetown Legion hall This is the last for the Georgetown branch which becomes part of the Hills service next year Above members Herald Photo pose candidly Including visiting guest mayor BIO Smith front row standing Residence For Retarded Closer To Reality Plans for a residence to house retarded adults In County arc now one step closer becoming a reality Mrs Winifred who operates a rehabilitation centre In Hornby said negotiations for the land to build on arc nearly complete Before the land purchase can he finalized surveyors must check he property but cording to Mrs Isham has been too wet for them to get In The proposed residence is to be built on a Trafalgar Road property Just north of Stceles Avenue In Hornby very close to he present workshop I don know when con can begin because we are in very dire need of funds explained Mrs Isham We are currently running a raffle which will be drawn in March to raise funds Mrs Isham said the raffle would not likely generate enough funds for the building and hopes for some public support Once the building Is erected the government will provide on per cent subsidy to absorb operating costs IMPORTANT Mrs Isham feels the residence la of utmost in Hills 1 There are many retarded adults living In the Georgetown Acton Milton area she related What do they do If their parents die and they have no guardian Most institutions are very overcrowded and I can see many of them being left without a home Mrs started the ARC workshop In Hornby seven years ago to help retarded adults learn the responsibilities of having a job In working with the tun dicapped she said she has found housing to be one of their greatest problems especially with older adults WINNERS SeUer of lucky ticket in the Acton minor Baseball Association monthly draw for November was Sandy McEachern Holder or the lucky ticket was Don Cun ningham at Cork St